


Skin Deep

by sweetlolixo



Category: the GazettE
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 22:03:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3912250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetlolixo/pseuds/sweetlolixo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beauty & the Beast AU. <em>“I thought your village people called me a monster,” Uruha answered, his voice slightly gentler this time, though it’s still miles away from the pleasing tone Aoi always had when he spoke. Uruha loved that. That was probably one of the reasons why he was so eager to accept the deal Aoi had offered him when he first heard of it – ‘take me and let my father go instead.’ An eternity with Aoi? Yes.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Fic originally posted onto LiveJournal [here](http://sweetlolixo.livejournal.com/201682.html) on February 20th, 2014.
> 
> art insp. from [mittilla](http://mittilla.deviantart.com), inspiration from beauty & the beast, and once upon a time's version of it :3
> 
>   
>  ** _true love's kiss_ (◡‿◡✿)**  
> art by [mittilla](http://mittilla.deviantart.com)

“You’re not a bad person,” Aoi claims, one day, while he’s dusting the dust off the teapot and teacups lying in the middle of the dining table. Uruha’s standing at the back, leaning against the wall, watching Aoi as always, a hand up supporting his chin, as if he were to be in contemplative thought.  
  
Their routine is fixed, by now, after a few months of living with each other, in this dark and dreary and  _huge_ castle. Aoi’s long gotten used to the silence with the  _beast_  he’s made to live with, someone he made a deal to stay with in exchange for sparing his father’s life; but it’s not so bad, and Aoi’s not complaining. He’s never been mistreated by the other man, only tasked by him to do chores and clean up the empty castle a bit, and he’s long settled into his role as a caretaker for the castle instead. He’s not a prisoner, either; Uruha’s never forced him to stay in the cell nor dungeons, and on the contrary,  _seemed_  to enjoy watching Aoi prance out and about the castle curiously and experimentally, smiling secretly to himself each time the raven found something new to explore with.  
  
The both of them had been rather content with the silence, at first, feeling comfortable with only saying what needed to be said – “ _What would you have me do today?” “Dust the cinder and make sure they’re clean”_  – but then Aoi, poor Aoi who had been plucked out from his bustling village and made to stay in a lonely castle with a monster, a life destined for solitude, found it in him to gather courage to speak more with the man he was taught to hate since young.  
  
“Your name,” Aoi had asked, the first time, while packing the books in the cabinet just behind Uruha who was sitting by his desk in his room. Uruha had been startled then; his scrawny fingers had been penning down more words in his personal diary, when he’d been jolted up by Aoi’s voice speaking to him.  
  
“Excuse me?” Uruha responded, his voice still gruffy and nasty sounding, hoping to intimidate Aoi into backing away and running off to another room to do his chores. Because how could there be a possibility that a refined young  _beautiful_ man like him could be interested in Uruha, even  _vaguely_? But Aoi hadn’t backed away, no. He had pressed on, only growing more determined as seconds passed.  
  
“Your name,” Aoi said, tipping his toes as he placed another book back into the cabinet. They’re dusty, so Aoi blows and puffs at the edges of the book, easing the dust away. “I’ve spent two weeks in this castle, and yet I still don’t know your name.”  
  
Uruha was stunned – and  _that_  was saying something. Because in all his life, he hadn’t found a reason to be shocked or surprised by anything, ever. Not since he had become who he was, anyway. Not since he had begun dabbling with magic and made himself this way.  
  
“I thought your village people called me a monster,” Uruha answered, his voice slightly gentler this time, though it’s still miles away from the pleasing tone Aoi always had when he spoke. Uruha loved that. That was probably one of the reasons why he was so eager to accept the deal Aoi had offered him when he first heard of it –  _take me and let my father go instead_. An eternity with Aoi?  _Yes_. He’d rather that over an old man, any day. He had had an eternity of loneliness all by himself and accepting Aoi’s deal was just an excuse to stem that loneliness from dragging on further.  
  
“You’re  _not_  a monster,” Aoi had laughed then, replying. He reached for another book from down below, dusting it off and tiptoeing once more to rearrange it into the shelves. “Not like they said, anyway. And I’m not about to call you a monster, anytime now. You’re just a man,” The raven-haired turned to him, fondly smiling as he gazed straight into Uruha’s eyes. “Aren’t you?”  
  
Uruha tried to look unperturbed by Aoi’s assuring gaze. “No, you’re wrong. You should probably listen to your village people, you know. You don’t know what I can do.”  
  
Aoi frowned at his response. “Oh? So you think yourself as a monster, too.”  
  
And then Uruha’s laughing again, in that wry, sly little laugh of his he always does. “That’s the truth, darling. I’m not so blind to ignore what is the truth.”  
  
“Oh, so you’re doing that again.” Aoi finishes sliding in the last of the books and closes the glass cabinet, blowing off the dust on his hands as he does so. “That little laugh you always do. The one where you try to, well, sound like a monster.”  
  
“Because I am,” Uruha rushes to say, not quite angry this time, just amused. He’s smiling now, unbeknownst to himself, and Aoi catches it, smiling briefly back.  
  
“You’re just a man,” Aoi says, and that’s all he leaves Uruha with, turning his back on him as he proceeds to leave the room. He has to sweep the ballroom now, though no one uses it in the first place, but he’s not about to question his master on the chores Uruha has set for him. He is stopped in his tracks, however, this time with Uruha’s voice.  
  
“Uruha.”  
  
“What?” Aoi spins on his heels, looking over to Uruha, puzzled.  
  
“That’s my name.” Uruha pretended to look unbothered, resuming back his penmanship against his paper. “You wanted to know it, and now you have it. My name is Uruha.”  
  
And that was when Aoi  _knew_  he’d clicked something within him.  
  
~  
  
Sure, he wasn’t, well,  _human_  looking. But Aoi’s pretty certain Uruha used to be human once, and Aoi’s guesses are usually right.  
  
Sure, he doesn’t have, well,  _human_  skin. His skin is like crocodile; he is covered in scales, and there’s a green tint to them, as if he’s truly a reptile, an animal, a beast in his own right. But he’s not entirely that, either. Because he’s still pale, rosy, and white underneath, and Aoi can see the human skin that once used to be there. His hair is black, long and messy; and it’s where his once blond hair used to shine in place of all that darkness. That’s the price that comes with magic; Aoi remembers what the old ladies back at the village used to tell him. He used to be a man, that  _beast_ , but he had gotten too greedy. Too lustful for power, and he wanted to be  _more_. He wanted to conquer the nine realms and he wanted to be the most powerful being in existence. And that’s why the normal man, the fallen prince, the greedy sorcerer begun to experiment further and further with darker magic, not intending to use it for the greater good – but to elevate his own status in their land, and all the other lands beyond.  
  
It had taken an equally powerful enchantress to subdue him, to ensure he remained a prisoner on his palace grounds, so that he would never be able to leave his castle and harm any other men that would come in his way. It was a famous story, one that transcended lands, and Aoi had grown up his whole life imagining him to be this great beast, one that no one should go near if they so valued their life. But then his father,  _oh_  his father, he was a researcher and he wanted so desperately to know if this legend, this story was true to its word that a dark and dangerous beast still existed deep in the abandoned palace grounds that were situated nearby. When Aoi finally found him after a week, his father had already been captured and locked down below in a gloomy prison cell.  
  
“Just let him go,” Aoi had pleaded. The beast was unmoving in the darkness, and Aoi couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him without the light. “You can take me. Just let my father go,  _please_.”  
  
“You’re foolish,” The beast had growled, as if it were warning Aoi of his very deal he was offering, but Aoi didn’t blink twice. “You are to stay with me forever. And then I’ll let him go.”  
  
“Then the deal is sealed,” Aoi whispered, and then the prison cell – as if on its own cue – unlocked on its own. His father was free to go, but the monster didn’t even give Aoi a chance to embrace him one last time. His father looked to Aoi, horrified, but all Aoi could manage was to mouth a silent apology before he was interrupted by the beast once more.  
  
“Come with me,” The beast had demanded, and Aoi was immediately dragged along; not by the beast’s own hand, no – but by magic, with an unexplainable force tugging him harshly forward, forcing him to follow the beast and stay true to his new fate. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to his father.  
  
When they finally stepped into the palace and there’s at  _least_  some light to shed upon his newfound capturer, Aoi’s astounded to see that it’s not a beast, no, and he doesn’t even resemble an enormous wolf, nor a three-headed monster, nor everything else the old village women had conjured up to him in vivid bedtime stories from before.  
  
The beast was just a  _man_. A man, who was unfortunately covered in scale markings, covered largely by his violet colored hood, his long dark hair shielding him from the light that dims upon him.  
  
“I don’t like the light,” Uruha had explained awhile later, his voice quiet. “It burns.”  
  
“Does it really?” Aoi had asked, unconvinced.  
  
Uruha hesitated for a moment before he answered. “No.”  
  
~  
  
The castle had plenty of mirrors, but Aoi’s found that every one of them is draped over by a massive cloth, and they’re all covered up in one-way or another. It’s not difficult to tell that Uruha’s had a hard time coming to terms with his curse, and it’s not difficult to tell that  _someone_  just doesn’t like looking at himself in the mirror.  
  
It makes Aoi feel sympathetic, almost, and it also gives Aoi one less reason to be frightened of the  _monster_.  
  
“You’re not a bad person,” Aoi decides to say to Uruha, one day, as he’s dusting off the teapots and cups in the dining hall. Uruha is watching him, as usual, but he’s grown fond of having Uruha’s company by him, and he doesn’t question it, doesn’t bother about his master following him everywhere anymore. At first Uruha had been ashamed to admit it; but then Aoi had begun noticing little magical teacups following him around the room as he mopped the floors, or the little dancing forks that tailed him as he made meals in the kitchen. Uruha was watching him, at every second available, and it made Aoi feel at ease, that Uruha longed for company as much as he did, and that Uruha wanted to be near him as much as Aoi wanted, too. It took a long while before Uruha dared to show himself in his real form, and even then, Uruha’s always quiet, as if he’s still embarrassed to be seen showing a form of concern to the raven-haired.  
  
“You don't know me,” Uruha replied back, eyes never leaving Aoi’s form, watching him as he picked the teacups up one by one and cleaned them thoroughly with a small cloth.  
  
“Well, you’ve never hurt me,” Aoi mused, looking over to him, and it makes Uruha frown deeply in response. Aoi laughed, expecting that reaction anyway. “If I didn’t know better, I would say… you’re just lonely.”  
  
Uruha rolls his eyes at that, scoffing, disguising his emotions once again at his finest. “But you  _do_  know better, don’t you, Aoi?”  
  
“Well,” Aoi smiled simply to him. “Maybe I don’t.”  
  
Uruha makes a grunting noise, and it makes Aoi laugh again. “It’s fine, living in this huge castle alone…  _Any_  man would get lonely, you know.” Aoi tries to reassure, placing the teacup he has in hand back down. “It’s fine to admit you need some company.”  
  
“I don’t need anything,” Uruha mutters, sounding bitter, but Aoi knows better. It’s all just a façade, a guise, and Aoi’s long gotten used to Uruha’s way of attempting to cover up his emotions.  
  
“You think you’re ugly, so you cover up all the mirrors in the castle.” Aoi says, and it silences Uruha at once, his eyes widening upon Aoi’s realization. “You think you’re uglier than you are. You think you’re a monster, some beast, just like what everyone out there says you are.”  
  
“I hired you to be my castle’s  _caretaker_ ,” Uruha snaps, suddenly, and Aoi knows he’s crossed the line; Aoi knows Uruha wants him to stop talking, to resume his duties, and keep in line with the silence they’ve both grown so comfortable with.  
  
“But you wanted someone to talk to, too.” Aoi continues, and Uruha’s eyes continue to ignite with fiery, his fists starting to clench. “I know the light doesn’t hurt you. You cover up all the windows in the castle with curtains because you’re afraid people will see you for you. You don't want people to look at you, because you know all they’ll see is a monster. But that’s not true.”  
  
“If you know your place in this castle, you best stop talking, now,” Uruha hisses, but it’s lost the rage it once had before. Aoi knows he’s slowly winning Uruha over, because he’s right. He was  _always_  right. And he knows Uruha will listen to him.  
  
“You’re not a monster; not to me.” Aoi finishes, and he sees Uruha turn his back on him, flicking his long violet cloak over as he turns, and he knows Uruha must be smiling, must be hiding his smile to himself again.  
  
“I’ll be heading to the library, incase you want to tail me,” Aoi offers, a small smile creeping up upon his own face himself, and as he turns to leave, he hears Uruha’s footsteps slowly shuffling, beginning to trail quietly behind him, and Aoi knows he’s won half the battle, already.  
  
~  
  
Aoi’s in the midst of re-reading his favorite book in the library, a tale of monsters and princes and romance and adventure, when Uruha stands before him, slamming another thick book right unto the desk Aoi’s reading on.  
  
“That’s rude,” Aoi comments, looking up to Uruha as he speaks, but he’s smiling all the same. Uruha just rolls his eyes in the same ol’ fashion he does when he knows he’s on the losing battle.  
  
“I have a book,” Uruha says, gesturing to the book he’s presented to Aoi, and Aoi takes it with new interest, fingers fondling with it. The book is dark red, an antique, and it’s secured with two gold clasps by the side. “It’s protected by magic. I’ve sealed it so that only  _I_  can open it. And…” Uruha bit his lip in a rather unusual, insecure gesture. “Well, now, you.”  
  
Aoi’s eyes are suddenly kindled with familiarity. “This is the book you’ve been writing in for the past few months.”  
  
“Not exactly,” Uruha waves a hand, doing a quick magic spell to create a chair for him to sit in. He pulls it over and seats himself before Aoi’s desk. “I’ve been writing in it for years. It’s my… diary.”  
  
Aoi’s cocking his head to the side, laughing as he reaches to open it. “So. The  _monster_  has a diary.”  
  
“Maybe,” Uruha snorts, but Aoi knows Uruha’s secretly pleased. “It’s, well, a gift. I guess. And also because I can’t stand you re-reading the same book over and over anymore.”  
  
“The  _monster_ ’s giving me a book?” Aoi teases, and Uruha’s immediately flustered. The raven can see a hint of the pinkness under Uruha’s scaly cheeks, and it makes Aoi smile. “But it’s your diary. Isn’t it something personal?”  
  
“I can always write a new one,” Uruha rushes to answer, though his anxiousness rouses suspicion within Aoi already. Aoi eyes him with a raised eyebrow. “Well… I was hoping you could help me finish it. The diary, I mean. We could… write in it.”  _Together_. The words go by unsaid, but Aoi knows perfectly what Uruha’s silence contains.  
  
“Thank you,” Aoi says, softly, genuinely, deciding not to tease Uruha further. He knows Uruha’s letting him in to his heart, and Aoi’s grateful for that. He’s spent months trying to understand this monster, his capturer, only to realize Uruha wasn’t a monster right from the very start at all. “I have… I have nothing to give you in return, Uruha.”  
  
“It’s okay,” Uruha says, and there’s a faint smile to his lips. Aoi smiles earnestly back. “I just… I’m just happy you like it.”  
  
“I like it,” Aoi answers, his hand moving forward to grasp Uruha’s wrist in his, shocking Uruha once more. “Very, very much, Uruha.” Aoi caresses Uruha’s hand with sincerity, and Uruha almost has half a mind to withdraw his hand – because  _no_ , Aoi  _couldn’t_  be touching his monstrous skin out of his own free will – but Aoi’s quick to subdue that thought. “It’s okay, I’m not scared of you. You’re not a monster,” Aoi soothes him, gently, and it makes Uruha draw a breath, sharply, his eyes looking over in confusion to Aoi’s.  
  
“You’re the first,” Uruha murmurs, casting his gaze down to their hands.  
  
Aoi sees unmistakable sadness in those dark eyes.  
  
~  
  
The next morning, when Aoi awakes in his own bedroom, he’s surprised to see the curtains swept neatly to the side.  _He can see the sun again_. He’s smiling with that very thought, knowing that only  _one_  person would be responsible for this, and he’s jumping excitedly out of bed, dancing out of his room and skidding down the corridors. The windows are all open and the curtains are all gone.  
  
Light is shining through the castle once more.  
  
~  
  
When Uruha’s not busy tailing Aoi around like a little bird, he’s mostly cooped up in his small study room, pouring his head over spell books and fixing up magical potions and ingredients. Aoi likes to serve him meals at this time, because he gets to gain an insight on who Uruha really is in these moments, seeing him wreck his head over trying to perfect his sorcery and figure  _something_  out. There’s a glint in Uruha’s eyes each time he accomplishes a new trick, and it makes Aoi happy, seeing glimpses of the former prince Uruha really was before.  
  
“What are you doing today?” Aoi asks, carrying Uruha’s meal in on an old metal tray into the room. “I have your meal ready.”  
  
“Trying to find a way,” Uruha responds, lips biting against each other as he bends over his desk to drip a single drop of his potion carefully into another flask. “Just some ol’ magic trick.”  
  
Aoi has a feeling Uruha’s just saying that to divert the topic, but Aoi doesn’t question it further. “I see. I read your book, by the way.”  
  
Uruha stills for a moment. “You’ve read it all?”  
  
“Yep.” Aoi finds a chair nearby and pulls it over for him to sit in. “So. You  _really_ were a prince.”  
  
Uruha releases a long sigh. “Yes, I was.”  
  
“You weren’t encompassing this much magic to gain more power,” Aoi states, eyes flickering up to Uruha’s warmly. “You were trying to save your mother. The Queen – she was dying. The stories… they aren’t true.”  
  
Uruha managed a small, unsteady smile. “Well, I mean… I  _am_  a monster, it’s easy to see that.”  
  
“No, you aren’t.” Aoi’s standing up immediately, gripping Uruha’s arm from behind, resolutely looking to him. “What happened? Why couldn’t magic save her?”  
  
Uruha felt a twinge to his heart at the mention of his late mother. “Magic can do many things, but they can’t bring back the dead. I only realize that now.”  
  
Aoi’s filled instantly with regret for the other man. “Then what made you like this? Why are you – ”  
  
“ – unhuman?” Uruha finishes for him, and Aoi does nothing but nod slowly, frowning sadly back to him. “The more magic I learnt, and held within me, the more it begun to flow through me and take over a part of… well, me. It’s controlling me. It’s seeping inside my soul and drowning me.”  
  
Aoi holds his breath. “Are you going to die?”  
  
“W-What? No, no, of course not.” Uruha’s sighing, turning away. “On the contrary, it’s quite the opposite. If I harbor too much of it, it’ll eventually make me immortal. That’s just the price to pay for magic.”  
  
Aoi smiles amusedly. “That’s hardly a price.”  
  
“Is it not?” Uruha’s cocking an eyebrow up, chuckling inwardly to himself. “I’m going to be trapped here. Forever. I’m going to live here for eternity, all alone. It’s definitely a price.”  
  
The raven-haired furrowed his brow. “You’re not alone.”  
  
“Well, not… for now,” Uruha’s voice lowers an octave, and Aoi realizes he’s slightly upset. “Not until, well, you leave, anyway.”  
  
“Who’s leaving?” Aoi asks, and Uruha turns around immediately, his gaze conflicted as he looks to him.  
  
“You’re going to run away eventually, aren’t you? You’re not going to stay with me.”  
  
“Who said that?” Aoi questions, baffled, until he realizes Uruha’s jumping to his own conclusions again. “You think I’m going to run away.”  
  
“And who am I to stop you?” Uruha says quietly, looking over to the distance, clutching his violet cloak tighter to himself. “You know I’m powerless beyond my palace grounds. You know my weakness. And your father’s probably waiting for you,” He adds, though he regrets it a second later. He shouldn’t have mentioned his father; it would only convince Aoi further to leave him, wouldn’t it?  
  
“And you’re telling me this… why?” Aoi eyes him furtively. “You’re… you’re testing me, aren’t you?”  
  
“Why would I be testing you?” Uruha says, scornfully, and Aoi realizes he’s probably hurt, deep inside. There’s a fear lying deep underneath of him, and Aoi hadn’t realized it existed all these while. Uruha was  _fearful_ of being left alone, of being left in this huge castle all alone again. Who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t, after living half a life alone, and  _finally_  having company again, only to be plagued with the fear that one day everything will resume to what it originally was? Uruha had all the reason in the world to fear Aoi leaving. And Aoi understands that.  
  
 _It’s fine, living in this huge castle alone… Any man would get lonely, you know._  
  
“I can’t leave,” Aoi says firmly, bravely, stubbornly, and his resoluteness makes Uruha smile a little. “Not when I’ve already sealed a deal with you, anyway. I’m not one to go against my word.”  
  
“So, you’re content being my housekeeper.” Uruha laughs wryly, folding his arms, looking to Aoi underneath his long dark lashes. “To an ugly,  _ugly_  man. A monster, if you will. A beast, one that people dream of slaying from far away.”  
  
“Why not?” Aoi says, and his genuine smile again comforts Uruha into oblivion.  
  
“You’re foolish,” Uruha says, his grin growing wider.  
  
“Maybe I am,” Aoi laughs alongside with him.  
  
~  
  
It’s subtle, at first. It comes in the form of red roses magically appearing in all the places Aoi’s about to dust; and then it escalates into the form of tastefully wrapped presents when Aoi turns his back on the meal trays for a second to reach for the utensils. Aoi’s half amused and half delighted each time, reaching over to hold the new presents in his hands to unwrap them.  
  
“They’re, um, not explosives.” Uruha says suddenly, appearing unexpectedly from behind, and Aoi jumps, surprised by Uruha’s voice. “Sorry, did I scare you?”  
  
“You need to stop poofing into the air like that,” Aoi says, giggling, and he allows Uruha to take him by the arm, spinning the raven around to face him. “What’s with the sudden influx of presents lately? Is it someone’s birthday?”  
  
“Not really,” Uruha laughs, flicking his palm out, easily forming a red rose in his grasp with a quick cloud of purple smoke. “Here. For you.”  
  
“That’s the fifth rose in a  _week_ ,” Aoi teases, rather accusingly, accepting the red rose in hand and bowing rather gracefully to Uruha in response to his gift. “I’m going to run out of vases to put them in if you continue giving them to me at this rate.”  
  
“Thankfully for you, I’ve got  _magic_ ,” Uruha teases back, and it widens Aoi’s smile.  
  
“If I didn't know better, Uruha…” Aoi turns around, reaching for a vase nearby on the dining table. “I would say you were courting me.”  
  
“Courting?” Uruha raises an eyebrow in questioning. “Ah, is that what you think it is?”  
  
“Of course, a  _monster_  couldn’t possibly, right?” Aoi laughs, placing the new red rose into the white porcelain vase. “Monsters don’t do that. Men who are in love do.”  
  
“Hmm.” Uruha plays along, reaching an arm out to circle his hand around Aoi’s waist, pulling him back close to him. “I guess monsters can fall in love too, then. Maybe. Just  _maybe_.”  
  
Aoi leans in, contemplatively, a playful twinkle in his eye as he speaks. “What makes you so sure, my little sire?”  
  
“I’m taller than you,” Uruha laughs as he presses his forehead against the raven’s, barely brushing their noses against each other. “My dear…”  
  
“See? You’re not a monster,” Aoi murmurs softly, feeling the sorcerer’s hand move up against his back, fingers running up through the strands of his hair. “My prince…”  
  
  
  
It’s easy,  _so_  easy to give in, when you’re already so close to him like this. Aoi feels Uruha’s lips pressing gently against his own, his teeth biting softly on the bottom part of his lip, and Aoi’s inclined to part his mouth, allowing Uruha to slide his tongue in immediately. Uruha kisses him hungrily, but slowly and thoughtfully, almost as if he’s holding back his love and lust with that one ounce of self-control not to scare Aoi away too easily just yet. Aoi’s laughing with that thought, and he returns Uruha’s kiss, sliding his tongue in next to his, encouraging Uruha to kiss him harder, his own hands reaching up in Uruha’s own hair to press him closer to him.  
  
When they finally part for air, their lips are messy with saliva, and Aoi’s giggling, tipping on his toes and sneaking one more kiss against Uruha’s lips. Uruha faintly smiles in content.  
  
And then the most amazing thing happened – Aoi saw distinctly the first layer of scales easing away from Uruha’s skin, fading away gently, giving way to the fair human skin that Aoi knew lay underneath. The dark from his hair is fading, too, paling into the honey blond shade it always once was. Uruha seemed to realize this, too, for he was looking dazedly to his own hands, puzzled by his sudden transformation. It stops after a second or two, however, and though Uruha’s more human-like than before, his scaly skin is still visible and evident.  
  
“It faded,” Aoi widens his eyes, appalled. “You’re… changing.”  
  
“Is that what it is?” Uruha’s looking to his hands, an incredulous look on his face, and his eyes are lighting up with newfound hope. “Am I getting better?”  
  
“I think you are,” Aoi says, thrilled, and he’s immediately hugging Uruha, warmly embracing him in his arms. “The curse is lifting!”  
  
“It’s because of you,” Uruha’s kissing the top of his hair, laughing along with him. “It must be. The enchantress said it… it could only be broken by a true love’s kiss.”  
  
Aoi peered up to him cheekily. “Well, then I guess we have to kiss more.”  
  
“I’m not complaining,” Uruha teases, and he has Aoi scooped up in his arms in a second, pressing him over the dining table, mouth moving against the raven’s own one once more. “I think we should get started all too soon...”


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were spent wrapped up in each other’s arms. Today, it’s spent in the library, where the windows have all been pushed open and the sunrays are allowed in, casting a faint glow against their bodies, as they lay bundled up together against the sofa.  
  
“You’re almost better now,” Aoi breathes against the blond’s cheek, fingers reaching up to caress Uruha’s skin admiringly. “It’s almost all gone. You’re normal, now.” And Uruha truly looks beautiful, shining in the light like this, with his skin glowing pristinely, prettily. The scales are almost missing, lest for the hint of greenness upon Uruha’s skin. Uruha’s blond hair gleams in the sun, and he looks just like a charming prince, the one in tales and stories Aoi reads, that of a brave knight and warrior that brings much honor and glory to his kingdom.  
  
“Because of you,” Uruha’s smiling simply, kissing the raven haired’s cheek. Aoi just laughs, snuggling up to him as he’s seated upon the blond’s lap, and Uruha makes a low groan at that.  
  
“What?” Aoi’s confused, at first, but then it all dawns unto him a moment later. “Oh.” He didn’t  _mean_  to.  
  
“Don’t tempt me, you little devil,” Uruha pinches the tip of Aoi’s nose with a chuckle. “You know what you do to me.”  
  
“What do I do to you?” Aoi asks, feigning innocence, and he’s folding his legs against Uruha’s lap once more. Uruha’s shooting him a look, but tightening his hold around Aoi all the same, laughing.  
  
“I love you,” Uruha coos, and his hand flicks up to tuck a few strands of Aoi’s hair behind his ears. “Don’t make me want to prove it to you.” Aoi didn’t want to admit he liked the sound of that.  
  
“Mmm,” Aoi’s squirming purposefully against his lap, knowing what it does to the blond. “Are you going to do something to me, big bad  _monster_?”  
  
“That’s it,” Uruha’s groaning, lowering the raven down further against the length of the sofa. “You’re going to get it.” He’s laughing, as he lowers his head, placing his lips just above Aoi’s neck again. They’ve been kissing non-stop the past few days and yet they haven’t grown tired of their little game; Uruha was madly in love with the raven, and he was just glad he finally had a chance to show it to Aoi. Aoi’s hands move down, curling into Uruha’s hair as the blond begins to kiss down the raven’s neck, like a man starving.  
  
Aoi knows this time things are different, because Uruha’s body is heavy against him, and without his heavy cloak that he often wore around before to shield him, his clothes are bare and thin and  _obvious_  against him. Aoi can feel Uruha’s hunger transcending beyond his mouth alone, and he’s eager to reciprocate it, slipping soft moans off into the silence as Uruha’s kisses travel down further and further. Uruha pushes the hems of the raven’s shirt up a little, still hesitant, but when Aoi reaches his own hands down to pull the shirt off himself in a bid to assure Uruha it was okay, Uruha grins, and proceeds to devour the raven’s bare chest.  
  
“You’re insatiable,” Aoi murmurs, giggling as he looks down with half-lidded eyes to the blond, but all Uruha responds with is a cute little bite against his stomach, leaving love marks everywhere possible.  
  
“The monster doesn’t like to share,” Uruha explains, smiling impishly to the raven, and as he takes Aoi’s nipple into his mouth, he’s letting out a strangled cry, hands gripping the sides of the sofa underneath him.  
  
“Clearly,” Aoi’s rolling his eyes, lost in pleasure, and it only worsens further when Uruha goes into his next course of action.  
  
Uruha’s magic has weakened since the curse got lifted, but it didn’t mean he was completely void of magic; and as the blond lifts a hand over Aoi and wipes Aoi clean of his pants with just a single movement, Aoi’s suddenly grateful for the magic Uruha still harbored. Teeth still scraping against his skin, Uruha’s hand lowers down to the front of Aoi’s crotch, gripping the erection that he knew would be there. Aoi’s instantly hitching his hips against him in response, pressing his cock against Uruha’s stomach, gasping as he feels the blond’s hand thumb the tip of his cock.  
  
“That’s a first,” Aoi moans as Uruha’s hand – calloused and warm – wraps over his cock and slides over him slowly.  
  
“What’s a first?” Uruha asks, and Aoi’s cursing as he begins to buck into Uruha’s grasp, trying to get him to go faster. Aoi’s cock begins leaking with every stroke, and it’s almost shameful how easily he succumbs to the pleasure Uruha’s giving him, his head thrown back and his face heated with lust.  
  
“My first,” Aoi answers swiftly, with a whine in his throat, watching Uruha gaze to him amusedly while he works a steady pace on the raven’s cock, unchanging. Aoi’s almost begging, his eyes pouting over to Uruha’s, and it makes the blond almost want to give in.  
  
“I’m honoured,” Uruha teases, and he bends his head over to the head of Aoi’s cock and gives a long lick. A shudder runs through Aoi’s body, clearly never having experienced the sensation before, and the moan that comes out is so  _lewd_ Uruha’s sorry he hasn’t done this earlier. “You want me to suck you, don’t you?”  
  
“Don’t tease me,” Aoi’s murmuring, turning his head away, face blushing. Uruha’s grinning, and he shrugs his comment off, trying to play it nonchalantly. Aoi’s reduced to a begging mess once more. “Please do that again,” Aoi pleads, and Uruha’s chuckling at the sight of his lover crumbling in front of him.  
  
“Do what?”  
  
“Oh,  _please suck my cock…_ ” Aoi implores, and it’s all it takes for the blond to lower his head down again and part his lips, accepting just the head of Aoi’s member into his mouth. It’s insane that Aoi hasn’t been pleasured in such a way before, considering how beautiful he is; but the knowledge that he’s Aoi’s first makes Uruha excited with want. He’s glad Aoi’s gaining this pleasure with his one true love, instead of any other douchebag that would exist out there.  
  
Aoi’s completely weak under Uruha’s touch, and Uruha decides that the next best thing in the world to Aoi’s kisses are Aoi’s moans, where they come in slight pants and smothering cries of Uruha’s name past Aoi’s lips. Aoi’s quiet at first, his moans slipping out in accordance to Uruha’s pace, but  _then_  Uruha makes these groaning noises at the back of his throat and sucks harder against him and Aoi’s  _completely_  debauched, his strangled cries ranging to screams and loud sobs that echo through the palace. He’s absolutely certain if someone were to venture past his palace grounds they would definitely hear Aoi’s disheveled noises, and somehow the thrill in that just works him up even more.  
  
“I’m yours, Uruha,  _oh_ , I’m all yours…” Aoi’s whispering hurriedly in the silence, and Uruha loves that,  _loves_  how he manages to reduce Aoi to just  _this_. Aoi’s words immediately send a jolt of arousal to his own cock and it’s with that reminder that he removes his lips from Aoi’s erection, pulling his mouth away Aoi’s groin. Aoi’s completely splayed out before him, wanton and perfect and naked, and there’s a vast of white skin still bare for him to mark and bite and  _dig_   _and bruise._  
  
“Don’t stop,” Aoi whimpers, rather disappointedly, but Uruha’s kissing the skin of his inner thighs in a second, parting them and spreading him wide open. Aoi’s eyes are wide, and he’s petrified for a moment, before easing himself back down against the couch, trustfully looking over to Uruha. “You’re – ”  
  
“I’ll try my best not to make it hurt, I promise,” Uruha’s breathing against his skin, raising a hand up to inflict more magic unto him. Aoi finds the between of his legs wet with oil, suddenly, and as Uruha moves a finger in between his thighs to locate his entrance, the blond clucks his tongue approvingly with what he finds. Aoi’s hole is puckered, flushed pink and  _soaked_ , and for once Uruha doesn’t regret his magic all too much. Aoi looks almost ready for him to enter, but Uruha decides to take further precaution, afraid he’ll hurt the virgin raven.  
  
Aoi can feel the edge of a blunt nail trace around his opening, before pressing in and –  _oh_  – Aoi’s trembling as he bites back a scream, pushing back instinctively to draw Uruha’s finger in deeper, his lover’s digit hurriedly pulling out and then pushing back in again to prepare him. Aoi’s rolling his hips, his mouth open as he releases another soft cry at another thrust, and very soon Uruha works a second finger into him, both fingers impatiently prodding in and out of his ass at record time.  
  
“This –  _too good_  – ” Aoi struggles to say, but all that comes out is a muffle of moans that pleases Uruha all too much. Uruha chuckles, watching Aoi move his hips eagerly over the fingers, and he increases its pace, liking the view of Aoi fucking himself against Uruha’s fingers with his hard cock lying against his stomach.  
  
“Pervert,” Aoi accuses, but he doesn’t deny that he likes the attention either, and he’s closing his eyes every now and then, drowning himself with the burning sensations of Uruha stretching him open from inside out. “I can’t – wait – please – your cock – ”  
  
“How vulgar,” Uruha chides, but his eyes are grazing over Aoi with lust, and he’s removing his fingers in a moment, and cleaning himself of clothes with a little hover of his hand over himself. Aoi’s face is pink at the first sight of his lover undressed, and Uruha’s laughing, settling himself in between Aoi’s legs, spreading the raven’s thighs and moving forward so the wet, hot head of his cock catches against Aoi’s flushed hole.  
  
Aoi whines softly at the feeling of his lover against him, like this, and it only escalates further into a loud moan when Uruha finally moves against him and pushes, his hands moving over to grip at Aoi’s hips, pressing him close to him until Uruha can feel his cock pushing past the first few wrings of stubborn muscles inside of him. Aoi’s breathing deeply, restless, and he knows only the head of Uruha’s member is inside of him, and yet  _oh god_  he already feels so filled up, so  _thick_ , so hot with Uruha’s blood pulsing inside of him. Aoi’s trembling, and he’s whimpering as Uruha drags him closer, his nails unforgiving as they clench in unto his sides,  _definitely_  leaving him bruises for days to come with the way he’s manhandling him.  
  
Uruha’s raising his own hips higher, plunging the rest of his cock deeper into Aoi with a deep breath; and when Aoi mewls once more in the silence Uruha takes great care to shush him with reassuring whispers, stopping for a moment to allow Aoi to adjust.  
  
“So tight,” Uruha groans, his fingers dancing across Aoi’s skin, caressing past the purple blemishes starting to form under his fingertips. “You can hold me, if that makes you feel better.” He reaches over for Aoi’s hands and ducks his neck under them to allow the raven to wrap his arms around his neck. Aoi’s smiling briefly at the gesture, nodding his head at the blond silently to move.  
  
“I love you,” Uruha’s whispering, and Aoi can see it deep in his eyes, beneath his flickering long lashes and his boyish grin as he gazes over to Aoi. The blond slips himself as deep as he can inside of the raven, pressing hot against the back of his thighs, and his hips tremble as he feels Aoi clenching tightly around him once more, producing delicious vibrations against his cock. “ _Oh,_ Aoi…”  
  
It’s unfortunate that Aoi’s so fragile, so small against him like this, because Uruha has Aoi’s hips firmly in his grasp, his self-control slipping slowly away from him entirely bit by bit. It’s so easy, so  _incredibly_  easy to give in, when Aoi’s ass is so tight around him, and his muscles are unforgiving and  _heavenly_  as they wrap around his cock, especially when he attempts to move himself back out like this. Aoi’s panting softly in the silence, his hands reaching up to dig into Uruha’s hair, and it’s when Uruha begins moving truly inside of him, hot and thick, does Aoi’s moans resume like they did just before, soft and loud and then  _screaming_  and  _crying_  for Uruha to go faster.  
  
Uruha fucks into him with intensity; fast and deep and  _unrelenting_ and  _constant_ , and the noises Aoi sobs out into the silence is pure delight to him. He fucks Aoi so hard the raven’s practically slipping in and out of consciousness, his eyes fluttering back up and close every moment, his mouth parted in a constant ‘o’. He works at Aoi’s ass, plunging in and out of his tight hole and groaning each time it squeezes around his cock, and he’s never been so clouded with lust, his body full of sweat and libido for the raven. Aoi attempts to roll his hips with the thrusts, desperate, but Uruha knows he’s absolutely weak underneath him, so he encircles his arms around Aoi’s back and guides him faster to his cock, earning more obscene moans from the raven. There’s nothing but the sounds of them breathing heavily in the silence, along with the crude sounds of their skin slapping against one another as they meet each other in thrusts; and the fervor of it all almost pushes Uruha over the edge, almost sends him leaking right into the raven’s hole once and for all.  
  
“Aoi,  _please,_ Aoi,” Uruha’s clutching the raven close to him, feeling Aoi dig his nails deeper into his scalp, the pressure and pain only heightening his pleasure at the same time. “You’re,  _god_ , so tight… Not gonna last… I’m…  _oh_ …”  
  
Aoi drives his ass insanely against his cock, and it’s  _so_  good it almost brings tears; Uruha’s only vaguely aware of Aoi’s own cock, leaking profusely against the raven’s stomach, and he lets out a moan as he feels it brush against his own abdomen in a need bid for friction against it. Aoi rubs it lewdly against Uruha’s own skin, moaning as he grinds vulgarly against the blond, and Uruha’s  _so_  overcome with the obscenity of it all that he’s driving his nails painfully down into Aoi’s own hips.  
  
“Come inside of me,” Aoi whispers into his ear, seductive and shameless, knowing that Uruha’s close, and his voice is all it takes for the blond to release finally, inside of him. He feels the distinctive twitch of Uruha’s cock before the flood of warmth brimming inside of him; and he’s writhing in pleasure as the blond comes undone against him.  
  
Uruha takes a moment to bask in it; the after glory of his climax, feeling the pleasure run up right to his toes, before he’s leaning his head over again to press his lips against Aoi’s shoulder, leaving another love bite against his skin.  
  
“You make me so weak,” Uruha kisses, airing hot breath against his skin, and he reaches a hand down to pump at Aoi’s own erection, proceeding to help him with his own climax. “You’re going to be the death of me, aren’t you?”  
  
“Maybe I am,” Aoi says, with that cryptic smile he always gives, and Uruha fastens his pace around his cock at that smile, his thumb urgently digging in to the slit of his head. “ _Oh_  – Uruha –  _!_ ”  
  
“So, you’re the beauty that fell in love with the beast, huh?” Uruha whispers, bucking his hips up against Aoi once more, eliciting a whimper from Aoi as he shifts his own cock deep inside of him. “You’re my sweet little princess.”  
  
Aoi moans deeply at that, and he allows Uruha to milk out the rest of him, his hands skillfully fucking Aoi against his hand with each thrust.  
  
“Of course, my prince,” Aoi cries out when he finally comes, shaking and crying in Uruha’s own grasp. “I’m  _your_  sweet little princess.”  
  
~  
  
The days that follow are blissful, but Uruha can’t shake off the feeling that Aoi’s still  _longing_ , that Aoi’s still missing his father greatly back home. It’s selfish, sure, to already have Aoi’s love and yet still long for more, but Uruha can’t help but notice that despite all that Uruha’s given to him, Aoi still has family out there that he misses, and that miss him back – and that’s something Uruha’s never able to give to him in return.  
  
With the curse gone, it’s a little harder to conjure up difficult spells at will, so Uruha’s had to pour over books for a few days to refine a spell good enough to create a magic mirror for Aoi as a gift. He knows he’ll never have enough will to let Aoi go from his palace, and the outside world still scares him as a whole, so the only thing he can come up with is a mirror that will enable Aoi to see how his father’s doing back at home, and whether he is well and in good health or in danger.  
  
“This is for you,” Uruha presents the mirror to him, one day, while they’re in bed together, cuddled up to one another. It’s frequent that they spend most of their time locked away in their room now, only occasionally leaving it to do chores or head to the library, and so it’s to Aoi’s surprise that he sees the mirror Uruha holds in his hands.  
  
“What’s that?” Aoi takes it into his hands, gently fingering it. It was originally one of Uruha’s mother’s possessions, something he’d treasured greatly to himself, and it was with great love that he decided to pass it on to Aoi as a gift. “It’s intricate. It’s… beautiful.”  
  
“It’s more than just a mirror,” Uruha demonstrates, and as he flicks a hand over it, an instant image of Aoi’s father appears in the reflection. Aoi’s face turns pale instantly, and he’s breathless at the sight, his hands slightly trembling. “It’s a way for you to see your father,” Uruha explains, and he’s unprepared for the way Aoi’s eyes seem to go ashen with tears. “It’s a gift from me to you.”  
  
In the reflection, Aoi’s father seems to be going about his daily business, cooking up a meal for himself in their house kitchen. Aoi’s overcome with emotion, his fingers reaching up to stroke past lovingly against the glass mirror. “He’s cooking his lunch… He has to eat all by himself again.”  
  
Uruha tries to ignore the guilt that’s seeping readily into his heart.  
  
“Do you… Do you like it?”  
  
“Yeah, I do,” Aoi breathes, attempting to calm himself down from the sudden surprise. He’s rubbing at his eyes, and it breaks Uruha’s heart instantly to see his raven-haired lover upset like that. “It’s a great gift, Uruha. Thank you.”  
  
Uruha finds himself smiling weakly to Aoi. “It’s… It’s not enough, isn’t it?”  
  
“What do you mean?” Aoi’s pushing the mirror to a side, curling back up under the covers, looking weary and hopeless all of a sudden. “I’m just a bit tired.”  
  
“You miss him,” Uruha says, almost accusingly, and then he stops himself when he realizes how jealous and selfish he sounds. Aoi’s shaking his head, protesting, but the words are tumbling out of the blond faster than he can think. “I’m not enough for you. You still want to see your father, don’t you?”  
  
“That’s not true,” Aoi murmurs, and when Uruha looks into the raven’s eyes, he sees that Aoi’s frightened of him once more. He’s instantly regretting his words, and he’s sighing as he tries to apologize to his lover.  
  
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Uruha’s whispering, leaning over to plant a kiss against the raven’s forehead. “I’m not angry, I’m… just…” And Uruha realizes he doesn’t know why he’s feeling the way he is. Was he still afraid of the possibility of Aoi leaving him? Aoi wouldn’t, anymore,  _right_? Aoi promised. Besides, Uruha wasn’t a monster any longer – he was  _human_. Normal, sane; the curse had long been broken. So why is it that…  
  
“Why don’t you leave the palace walls, Uruha?” Aoi asks, and it finishes the burning question in Uruha’s mind. The blond prince is dazed, suddenly, and he realizes he doesn’t understand why himself.  
  
“I’m not…”  _That’s because, deep down, you know you’re still a monster_. Uruha’s gripping at the white sheets underneath his fingertips, his breath hitched, and he feels his heart heavy with the realization that sinks down upon him. “People aren’t going to like me,” Uruha says, quietly, and Aoi gazes to him, confused, at that mention. “They’ve known me as the monster for so long, it’s not… it’s not going to change, anytime now. It’s not going to change just because I have you, Aoi.” He’s looking up to the raven, a hand fleeting over to cup at Aoi’s jaw as he speaks. “No one’s going to believe me. No one’s going to believe  _us_ , Aoi. Not even your father.”  
  
“So that’s why you won’t let me see him?” Aoi’s eyes are questioning, half-pleading, and Uruha feels obliged to embrace him and hug him and tell him he’s sorry, that he’s had to cause pain on Aoi like this. “Just because you’re…  _scared_?”  
  
“They’re going to take you away from me,” Uruha says, tired, and he’s reaching over to run his fingers through Aoi’s hair against the pillow, stroking him softly. “They will, Aoi. The whole village probably knows what I did to you and your father, now. They’re probably going to want my blood if they ever see me in the flesh.”  
  
“We could tell them,” Aoi pipes, but Uruha just smiles softly at that, shaking his head. “Why not? They’ll listen to me. I’m their village people.”  
  
“I have  _magic_ , Aoi,” Uruha’s laughing as he speaks, unconvinced. “They’ll say that I put you under a spell. Or worse yet, say that I’m threatening your life if you don’t speak well of me otherwise. It’s not… Aoi, listen to me, they’ve heard stories about me for years. It’s not just going to change one day just because you tell them otherwise.”  
  
“But you don’t look like what you used to be,” Aoi protests, but Uruha eases the raven softly with another kiss atop his hair. “You’re backing down without even trying! You could change their minds about you – about  _us_  – ”  
  
“It’s okay, Aoi,” Uruha’s gently hushing him. “I’m perfectly fine with that. I’m perfectly fine with spending all eternity here, Aoi. As long as I’m with you. I’m not alone anymore, so it’s fine, now.” And he hopes Aoi feels the same, but he sees the hint of regret in the raven’s eyes, and he knows it’s not enough. “It’s your father, isn’t it?”  
  
“Perhaps he could come live with us,” Aoi says softly, though he knows his suggestion will get rebuked. “He’s my father, Uruha, I can’t… I  _can’t_  leave my Daddy alone…”  
  
Uruha knows what he has to do, but he still takes time to mull over it, still proceeds to be deep in thought over the one matter he knows he has to allow Aoi to have, eventually.  
  
“I’ll let you go see him,” Uruha says to Aoi, later in the day, when Aoi’s sweeping the floors of the main hall, and Uruha’s watching him by the sidelines as usual. “But I – I’ll only allow that for a week. And if you manage to change his mind about me, I’ll allow you to bring him back, too. But if – if he  _doesn’t_ – I’ll be expecting you to be back in seven days, alright?”  
  
“Do you really?” Aoi’s head perks up instantly at the news, his eyes gleaming with newfound hope. Uruha’s suddenly convinced he’s made the right decision, after all. The raven rushes to his blond prince and hugs him tightly, his face spreading wide into a smile. “Thank you so much, Uruha… This is the greatest gift anyone could give to me.”  
  
Uruha begins counting down the days left to Aoi’s return right after that.  
  
~  
  
Uruha spends the first few days in his study room, practicing magic spells, but only just to take his mind off Aoi and the absence of his raven-haired lover. It’s different now, this loneliness; it’s different from before, where Uruha had already been used to it for years, having no one to be around him or to have no one to talk to, to spend his time with. Because ever since Aoi’s entered his life, Uruha’s found every day to be passed with great joy, and he’s never gone to sleep feeling miserable with Aoi’s company around, even if it’s with just the comforting sounds of Aoi’s feet moving around the ballroom upstairs. And then after they’d fallen in love, Aoi had taken to sleeping in Uruha’s bed himself, and his nights were spent far lovelier, with the both of them only being able to fall asleep at night if in each other’s arms.  
  
And so, when Aoi departs from his castle, Uruha’s left to get used to lonely nights once more, and he has to come to terms with a new kind of loneliness; the kind of loneliness where he has just known true love, only to have it leave him once more like this. He comforts himself with the knowledge that Aoi will be back in a week, though, and it’s all that he needs to lull himself to sleep, content with knowing his lover will be back for him before he knows it.  
  
On the third night, however, he wakes up with a nightmare of Aoi never coming back, and it haunts him until the next morning, where he lays in bed wide-eyed and grief stricken from such a thought. He buries his head into Aoi’s own pillow, trying to take in his scent, but it doesn’t help much, and it only worsens the longing he feels in his heart. Was this how it felt when Aoi was longing for his own father? Because it was excruciatingly  _painful;_ and Uruha’s sorry he had deprived Aoi of such love.  
  
On the fifth night, Uruha manages to create a potion. It helps him fall asleep with great ease, and bestows him good memories of Aoi that he’s had in the time spent with him from before. But when he wakes the next morning and realizes all is but a dream and Aoi’s still nowhere in sight, he finds himself crumbling down emotionally in the comfort of his bed.  
  
On the sixth night, he spends it by the main door. He lies by the main door, listening quietly to any sounds or hints of Aoi returning, and magicks a red rose in his hand for him to present to the raven if Aoi happened to return. He ends up falling asleep after a few hours of waiting, heart heavy when he realizes Aoi’s not coming, only to be startled up when he hears the sound of footsteps approaching.  _Aoi_. It’s his only thought as he throws the door open, heart strumming loudly in his chest as he awaits for the sight of his beloved to return.  
  
He is sorely disappointed.  
  
He finds a large group of villagers standing by the front of his castle, lighted torches in hand, furiously looking straight to him as he stares rather disinterestedly back.  
  
“We’re here for revenge,” One of the men says, the one right at the front, and Uruha notes him to be bigger built than the rest, someone he assumes is the alpha leader of the group. “You kidnapped  _my_  beautiful Aoi and tortured his poor father, and you need to be dealt with.”  
  
It takes Uruha a moment – but when he realizes it,  _really_  realizes it, his heart is immediately broken. Aoi not only wasn’t coming back, but he had brought forth a group of his villagers to kill him as well? Uruha knows he’s in no state to put up a fight with his weakening magic; it had been deteriorating ever since he had met Aoi, and right now at his heart’s weakest, Uruha finds himself in no position to deal with an angry group of blood-wanting villagers. The blond prince slams the main door back close and locks it with his magic, but he knows it’s not enough, and they’ll be bursting into his castle once they thrash it enough with violence.  
  
Uruha runs up the stairs to his study room, grabbing for his violet cloak and hooding his face from being seen, and he’s quick to grab for the hidden knives he’s kept in his drawers, lest he ever needs self-protection from anyone he meets. He hears the loud commotion from below, noisily kicking his front door down, and Uruha inhales a long, scarring breath, resisting the urge to break into tears at the blatant betrayal Aoi’s done to him. Uruha rushes out of the room, knowing his life is at stake, though he realizes he probably has nothing to live for if Aoi isn’t coming back, anyway, and he hastily recites the most dangerous of spells he’s remembered from so long ago. Down below, the villagers are  _suddenly_  engulfed into huge, hot flames in the main hall, and Uruha smiles wryly as he hears their screams while they struggle with the burning fire, many running out of the castle in fright.  
  
He looks down to his hands and finds dark scales slowly appearing against his skin once more.  
  
“Hey,  _you_!”  
  
Uruha turns, immediately, to the sound of a voice calling for him from a distance. Looks like at least one of them got away scot-free from the fire. He’s surprised to see the man from before, the one that had claimed Aoi as  _his_. Just what right did the man had to claim Aoi was his? Was he Aoi’s own secret lover back home? Uruha’s eyes are blazing towards the man, jealousy and hurt running through his very veins, and the way he snarls towards the man in contempt is  _so_  animalistic that Uruha forgets he used to be this way once before. Uruha’s taking off instantly to the balcony outside, running down the corridor to reach it, and the man behind him follows savagely after, thirsty for Uruha’s blood and soul.  
  
 “You can’t run from me; not when I’m going to kill you.”  
  
So, the man’s got guts, and Uruha likes that.  
  
The blond prince soon finds himself face to face with the other man on the balcony; a knife raised up in his hand, and magic forming in the other. Uruha ducks and avoids as many punches as the man delivers to him, but his wounded heart is slowly failing him from within, and there’s only so much he can take in this state. He attempts to set the man ablaze with fire as often as he can, but the man is seemingly unscarred by each attempt, scoffing at the weak magic Uruha has to offer. Uruha has his teeth gritted, his mind running through a million magic spells, and when he  _finally_  comes up with the one spell he knows he can conjure in his exhausted state, he hears Aoi’s name calling for him from a distance, and it diminishes all thought from him instantly.  
  
“Aoi?” He’s desperately turning, his eyes frantic to just catch another glimpse of the man he so loved back. And he sees the raven haired, standing a distance away, his face clenched in tight sobs. He’s about to call for him once more,  _when_ –  
  
 _Stab_. Uruha feels the harsh stabbing of a knife plunging right into his chest, and that  _does_ it. He staggers back, stumbling from the impact, and falls right back to the ground, his hands shakily reaching out for Aoi in the air. The other village man is laughing triumphantly over him, and it’s with Uruha’s very last ounce of strength that he hovers a hand over the man’s very form and shrouds him into a purple haze of smoke.  
  
When the shroud finally clears, all that’s left of the man himself is a stalk of red rose lying on the floor, and by the time, Aoi’s already rushed up next to Uruha, holding him and crying noiselessly over his face. Or maybe he was making sounds, Uruha couldn’t tell anymore; everything was drowning out, and he was bleeding. He was bleeding  _bad_. Uruha’s gasping for air, but it doesn’t work, not anymore, not when he’s dying like this.  
  
“It wasn’t me, I swear,” Aoi’s hysterical in his crying, and he’s cupping Uruha’s face in his hands, kissing every inch of his skin sofly. “I tried to convince them. You were right – they didn’t want to listen to me, Uruha, they wanted to kill you…”  
  
Uruha’s smiling at his words. “It – wasn’t –  _you_ ,” He whispers, and Aoi nods frantically, kissing the last bit of Uruha’s tears away.  
  
And then Uruha slips into unconsciousness; and in the next moment he’s gone.  
  
Aoi finds himself crying deep into the night.  
  
~  
  
“I should have listened to you,” Aoi’s whispering, rambling, and he presses his lips against Uruha’s, once, twice, an infinite amount of times in delirious desperation to revive him once more. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?”  
  
 _“You’re not a bad person.”_  
  
 _“I thought your village people called me a monster.”_  
  
 _“You’re just a man.”_  
  
 _“Uruha. You wanted to know it, and now you have it. My name is Uruha.”_  
  
 _“If I didn’t know better, I would say… you’re just lonely.”_  
  
 _“I don’t need anything.”_  
  
 _“It’s fine, living in this huge castle alone… Any man would get lonely, you know.”_  
  
 _“Well… I was hoping you could help me finish it. The diary, I mean. We could… write in it. Together.”_  
  
 _“If I didn't know better, Uruha… I would say you were courting me.”_  
  
 _“I guess monsters can fall in love too, then. Maybe. Just maybe.”_  
  
 _“You’re insatiable.”_  
  
 _“So, you’re the beauty that fell in love with the beast, huh?”_  
  
When Uruha finally awakens from Aoi’s grasp awhile later, the blond’s gasping, and his scales fade to give way once more to the human skin that lay there. Aoi’s smiling through his tears, clutching Uruha close to him, kissing the top of his forehead.  
  
“True love’s kiss breaks any curse,” Aoi reminds Uruha, a playful twinkle in his eye, and it’s all it takes for the blond to reach up and pull the raven down into a long-awaited kiss.  
  
“I’ve waited for you for too long,” Uruha’s saying in between their kisses, and Aoi realizes he’s crying, too, his blond beast, smiling gratefully for all that’s happened between them. “I’ve waited, so,  _so_  long, Aoi.”  
  
And Aoi smiles, knowing  _exactly_  what Uruha’s saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Re-posting this fic onto AO3 from LiveJournal because I decided I should transfer more of my fav fics here :O)
> 
> BLAME ME AND MY LOVE FOR DISNEY AUs. (and the song. the song got me. i hope you like it too.)
> 
> ((also I recently watched Once Upon A Time and that screwed me over too.)) I'm surprised I wrote a B&tB story, seeing as Belle wasn't all that my favourite when I was younger (I only really liked her dress, lulz) Aurora/Sleeping Beauty is my fav, followed by Ariel/Little Mermaid I NEVER KNEW HOW MUCH I LIKED BEAUTY AND THE BEAST TILL NOW. :'D
> 
> Also while writing this whole fic throughout I was imagining aoi and uruha with british accents, lol.
> 
> So if someone out there still appreciates Disney AUs & Aoiha I hope you liked this little ficlet <333 Also, partially inspired by mittilla's beautiful artwork again. I'm trying to keep up my promise of more, uh, art-fic based collaborations... :3
> 
> Back to my little cave where I write ten more stories and publish only like, one. >.> I never finish my fics.


End file.
